


a questionable client

by imposterhuman



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: AU-gust 2020, Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Bodyguard Bucky Barnes, First Meetings, M/M, Pepper Potts & Tony Stark Friendship, Pre-Relationship, tony stark is a little shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:20:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,140
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25985032
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imposterhuman/pseuds/imposterhuman
Summary: “Pep, Pepper, light of my life,” Bucky heard a voice from where he was standing in the foyer of his client’s frankly obscenely large mansion. “I don't need a bodyguard. Seriously.”Another voice, who Bucky assumed was Pepper, responded, “Tell that to the seventeen separate death threats last week alone.”Bucky almost whistled in surprise. He had known Stark was high profile, but seventeen was an awful lot of death threats. He caught himself, though, because he was a professional,thank you very much.“It’s just hot air,” Stark grumbled. “You know that. I haven’t been kidnapped in months.”“That shouldn’t be the standard, you idiot."
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark
Comments: 26
Kudos: 468





	a questionable client

**Author's Note:**

> for au-gust day 18: bodyguard au
> 
> this was actually ch 1 of a larger piece i'd been writing, so maybe after august is over i'll come back to it if there's interest!!
> 
> enjoy :))

“Pep, Pepper, light of my life,” Bucky heard a voice from where he was standing in the foyer of his client’s frankly obscenely large mansion. “I don't need a bodyguard. Seriously.”

Another voice, who Bucky assumed was Pepper, responded, “Tell that to the seventeen separate death threats last week alone.”

Bucky almost whistled in surprise. He had known Stark was high profile, but seventeen was an awful lot of death threats. He caught himself, though, because he was a professional,  _ thank you very much _ .

“It’s just hot air,” Stark grumbled. “You know that. I haven’t been kidnapped in months.”

“That shouldn’t be the standard, you idiot,” Pepper hissed. “Now, you’re going to introduce yourself and pretend like you aren’t a garbage troll, okay?”

“I’m so hurt,” Stark deadpanned, finally coming into view. “You’re fired.”

“Me?” Bucky pointed to himself. “I just got here.”

Bucky appraised Stark with a trained eye. He didn’t look like the average playboy billionaire (as much as there  _ could  _ be an average, anyway); his hair was messy, his clothing was stained with oil, and his jeans were ripped in at least three different places. Everything about him screamed  _ normal _ , but the intelligence in his eyes whispered  _ threat _ .

“Not you,” Stark waved him off, seeming to do an appraisal of his own in a half second. “Her. The evil queen herself, Pepper Potts.”

“You flatter me,” Pepper deadpanned. “What’s your social security number, again?”

“Five,” Stark said confidently. 

Pepper stared at him expectantly. “The other eight digits?”

“Put them in your letter of resignation,” Stark shot back. 

Bucky held his tongue at Stark’s rudeness.  _ This  _ was the man he was expected to protect? It had only been two minutes, and Bucky was ready to punch him. 

Pepper must have been a better woman than him, because she just smiled at Stark. She patted his cheek fondly. “If you can survive five minutes without me, I’ll happily resign,” she teased. “I have to get back to work. Be nice or I will lock you out of your lab for a week and schedule you for at least ten meetings.”

“Rotten woman,” Stark grumbled, shooing her off. “See if I buy you any more shoes!”

Her laugh echoed in the foyer as Stark turned those smart eyes on Bucky. He stared for a moment longer, narrowing his eyes. He looked relaxed, at ease on the surface, but there was something defensive lurking in his posture.

“First things first,” he clapped his hands, startling Bucky. “I don’t need a bodyguard.”

“Miss Potts would disagree,” Bucky pointed out. “As she hired me.”

Stark rolled his eyes. He was smaller in person, Bucky noted. His larger than life personality made Bucky think he would be… taller. “Miss Potts is a worrywart and a hopeless optimist,” Stark’s gaze sharpened. “I have yet to have a bodyguard last longer than a week. Really, I figured I’d been blacklisted from all bodyguard agencies, I’m that bad. Fair warning and all that.”

“I think you’ll find I can handle it, Mr. Stark,” Bucky said wryly, thinking of Steve’s stubbornness growing up.

“Famous last words,” muttered Stark. “There isn’t much you need to know. Just stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours. Cool?”

Bucky shook his head. “That’s not going to work for me,” he said. “I was hired as a bodyguard. I plan on doing my job.”

Stark raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?” Bucky nodded. “Your funeral, then.”

In the space of a heartbeat, Stark’s entire demeanor shifted. The hints of openness he had displayed to Pepper were gone; in their place, confrontation was written in every line of his body. His smirk was devastatingly arrogant, his eyebrows elevated just enough to look both haughty and disinterested. It looked like an art form, the way his expressions were carefully concocted.

“You have free reign of the house,” Stark said, sounding exceedingly bored. His eyes gave him away; he was expecting some kind of reaction, Bucky could tell, but he didn’t know  _ what _ . “Any security you decide to institute needs to be talked over with JARVIS. Trust me, there’s nothing you can add that he hasn’t, but you’re welcome to try. Oh, and the lab is off limits. Non negotiable.”

“Nope,” Bucky said casually. “I’m going to need access to the lab, Mr. Stark, if Miss Potts’s descriptions of your time spent in there are accurate.”

Stark’s face twisted into a scowl. “No,” he said curtly. “There is proprietary SI tech that, legally, you can’t see. JARVIS will let you know if there’s an emergency and act accordingly.”

“Who is JARVIS?” Bucky asked, picking his battles. He could fight the lab thing some other time when Stark was a little less defensive. 

“My AI,” Tony waved a flippant hand. “He runs the place and the parts of my life that Pep doesn’t. J, say hello to Sergeant Barnes here.”

“Hello, Sergeant Barnes,” a crisp British voice came from seemingly nowhere. Bucky startled, looking around. “I am Just A Rather Very Intelligent System. JARVIS, if you will.”

“Before you ask, no, he doesn’t live in the ceiling and yes, he is really an AI,” said Tony. “See why I don’t need a bodyguard?”

“No offense, Mr. Stark, but I’m not sure that a computer program qualifies as protection,” Bucky said without thinking. “Uh, sorry, JARVIS.”

“No need, Sergeant, I concur,” JARVIS said, voice somehow both amused and exasperated. “I have been telling Sir the same since my creation. He, similarly, has been ignoring me.”

“Traitor,” Stark scowled. “I will send you to a community college in Jersey, don’t test me.”

“My servers are shivering in their racks, Sir.” 

“They’d better be,” said Stark, turning back to Bucky. “JARVIS is the most advanced AI in the world. Nothing gets past him.”

“He’s a computer program,” Bucky felt obligated to remind his client. “He can’t stop an attacker.”

Stark looked like he was praying for strength. “J, activate the defense grid, sector one, nonlethal,” he ordered. “Don’t fire, though.”

Several of what looked like machine guns slid out of the walls silently, each aiming at Bucky. He flinched, hand going to his own sidearm.

“Put them away,” said Stark, confident he made his point.

“Your house can’t follow you everywhere,” said Bucky, trying not to show his nerves. Stark must have been seriously paranoid to have that many weapons hidden away. “That’s what I’m here for.”

“Fine, Sergeant Buzzkill,” Stark waved a hand, smiling dangerously. A gauntlet had been thrown, Bucky was sure. He wasn't sure of much else, if he was being honest. “We’ll see how long you last, won’t we? The stubborn ones are always more fun.”

Bucky was too well-trained to fidget with anxiety, but he definitely wanted to in the face of Stark’s shark smile. 

What had he gotten himself into?

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos make me happy :))
> 
> come talk to me on tumblr [@imposter-human](https://imposter-human.tumblr.com/)


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